Farmer Chang's BaoZhong Green Oolong (Spring Competition Grade)

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Oolong Tea Leaves
Flavors
Bread, Butter, Cream, Custard, Floral, Gardenias, Grass, Honeysuckle, Mineral, Peas, Rice, Vanilla, Flowers, Vegetables
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by eastkyteaguy
Average preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 6 oz / 192 ml

Currently unavailable

We don't know when or if this item will be available.

From Our Community

1 Image

0 Want it Want it

0 Own it Own it

2 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Another of the Spring 2016 teas I have needed to finish for quite awhile, this oolong is the competition grade version of Farmer Chang’s spring baozhong. I liked the regular baozhong quite a bit,...” Read full tasting note
    72
  • “The winter harvest of this tea is my favorite baozhong ever but I was less enthralled by the spring harvest. This one has some nice pastoral notes and light florals but lacks the heady flowers and...” Read full tasting note
    79

From Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company

Competition Baozhong rarely makes it outside of Taiwan. The local market values this tea highly and it is snatched up quickly. This is Farmer Chang’s Spring 2016 Competition Baozhong. Farmer Chang grows this tea in a beautiful area of Pinling. His normal grade Baozhong is one of our best selling teas. This is the same tea but it’s processed very carefully and it is picked at the precise instant Farmer Chang determines all the major factors are present; good weather, date and time of day. This attention to detail produces an amazing floral Baozhong that will transport you to another place with every sip.

About Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company View company

Company description not available.

2 Tasting Notes

72
1048 tasting notes

Another of the Spring 2016 teas I have needed to finish for quite awhile, this oolong is the competition grade version of Farmer Chang’s spring baozhong. I liked the regular baozhong quite a bit, but that should not come as a shock considering the last version of it I had was the winter 2015 harvest and I generally tend to favor winter harvested baozhongs. This one I found to be appealing, although I have not had a competition grade baozhong recently enough to compare it to any other competition grade tea. I also have no clue how it compares to the regular spring 2016 baozhong either since I did not get the opportunity to try it.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 185 F water for 5 seconds. I followed this infusion up with 12 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves presented mild aromas of sweetgrass, peas, butter, and fresh flowers. After the rinse, I noted the emergence of vanilla, fresh baguette, and steamed rice aromas. The first infusion presented a somewhat more intense floral fragrance. In the mouth, I detected mild, smooth notes of sweetgrass, peas, baguette, butter, cream, and steamed rice balanced by slightly indistinct floral notes most reminiscent of a combination of lilac, gardenia, lily, and honeysuckle. Subsequent infusions were incredibly balanced in terms of fragrance and taste. A subtle vanilla note emerged on the palate, while sweet pea emerged on the nose and in the mouth. I also caught a slight custard aroma and flavor around this point as well. I will point out that the floral tones mellowed and faded rather quickly, as butter, cream, pea, and sweetgrass aromas and flavors steadily became more dominant in later infusions. A mineral presence also crept in at this point. By the final infusions, the tea was mostly a wash of sweetgrass, peas, and minerals with slight impressions of cream and butter.

As far as baozhongs go, this one was very mild and mellow. I found it to be more mellow than the last release of the regular baozhong I had. It was also more vegetal, and disappointingly enough, it faded faster than the other as well. Part of me wants to say that it may have faded a bit in storage, and while that is certainly possible, I remain a bit skeptical as I finished the winter 2015 Farmer Chang’s Green Oolong last month and it was still as vibrant as could be. This may have just been a milder, more vegetal tea. I didn’t find it to be bad or anything-I really liked its smooth, milky texture and the sweet pea presence that I find to be a signature element of Farmer Chang’s baozhongs-it is just that I have a sneaking suspicion that there are better, richer, more complex, and more distinctive competition grade baozhongs out there.

Flavors: Bread, Butter, Cream, Custard, Floral, Gardenias, Grass, Honeysuckle, Mineral, Peas, Rice, Vanilla

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML
Fjellrev

I’ve yet to experience a baguette note in a tea. That’s epic.

eastkyteaguy

I’m not sure if baguette is the most accurate way of describing it, but that’s what it reminded me of.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

79
676 tasting notes

The winter harvest of this tea is my favorite baozhong ever but I was less enthralled by the spring harvest. This one has some nice pastoral notes and light florals but lacks the heady flowers and nectary sweetness of last season’s tea. The body is heavier and on the vegetal side. It’s not a bad tea, just doesn’t really set itself apart from regular grade Baozhong .

Flavors: Flowers, Vegetables

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 15 sec 1 g 9 OZ / 266 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.